


Blood and Voices

by Rinari7



Series: Leading the Blind [6]
Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Episode Tag, Friendship, Gen, Year of Hell
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-28
Updated: 2016-07-28
Packaged: 2018-07-27 07:01:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7608367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rinari7/pseuds/Rinari7
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tuvok cuts himself shaving again. Seven and Tuvok friendship ficlet, set during the Year of Hell.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blood and Voices

He was bleeding, yet again, a greenish liquid seeping out of him, and then he wiped it away to nothing more than a smear that he could likely no longer sense. But Seven could, and it seemed to glint at her, a taunt in response to which the muscles in her throat tightened.

His insistence upon independence in this matter was illogical. His sight was nonexistent--something she was at least in part responsible for--and her hand was steadier. Any damage that could be avoided ought to be, in their situation. He did not have her regenerative capabilities—though those were declining as well, now that power was to be conserved for the ship’s necessary systems and she was reduced to processing crude substances, “rations,” biologically for energy.

It was not a new sensation, this tension, this—no. Borg did not know such things. Fear, or guilt, was inefficient, unproductive, and therefore unacceptable. But liquid leaking outside of the vessels in which it ought to be contained was a situation to be remedied, and avoided if possible.

 

She may have attempted to engage him while he performing in his ritual grooming more often than otherwise, may have made it a point to be present during this activity, insofar as she could. As he had not accepted her offer of assistance so far, it was unlikely that he would now, and speaking of it would have been an exercise in futility. But she appreciated his capacity for logic, and perhaps, on a day like today, he would finally acquiesce. So she pinned her hair up and back, in the most efficient and yet aesthetically pleasing style she was aware of, and spoke of her intentions today to begin repairing the relays that brought power to the shields, and watched her cabinmate out of the corners of her eyes.

 

(When she had brought up the topic of condensing crew living space again in order to be able to shut down life support on deck three, Janeway had been quick to see the logic in it. Tuvok had been far more amenable to the idea of sharing his private space with her—given their similar appreciation for order, and his habituation to her company—than with Harry or Neelix or B’Elanna or even Janeway, and Seven took a certain amount of pride in that fact.)

Tuvok’s facial muscles twitched, ever-so-briefly, as the blade scraped over his skin, and Seven inserted the last pin into her twist.

“At this time, efficient use of resources is essential. This includes the energy of the crew. Biological damage should be avoided if possible, especially now that we cannot easily ensure a sanitary environment.” She had not intended to speak of it again, and the sensation of being surprised by herself was distinctly unpleasant.

“I assure you, my immune system has not been weakened. Rather, some exposure to pathogens has been scientifically proven to bolster the body’s natural defenses.”

“But the energy expended by the body to make these biological repairs—”

“That amount of energy is negligible.” 

She accepted the statement for the refusal it was.   
  
It would also be unwise to speak again of the folly of Janeway’s choice, to take Voyager out of the nebula and back into open space when the ship was barely functioning. And yet: “Is there no way to protest the captain’s decision?”

“Are you suggesting a mutiny?” He set down his blade and turned his face towards her, sightless eyes still somehow darkened with a certain ferocity she had never seen before. “We are in no position to tolerate any disobedience or possible sabotage.”

That look startled her, made her angr—jeal—made her nothing. Emotion served no purpose; it was inefficient, compromising, futile, and therefore unacceptable. His logic was persuasive. She lowered her gaze. “No, that was not my intention. I simply—I find it difficult to accept the captain’s decision, when the risk to Voyager is unacceptably high.”

He observed her for several moments longer, and then pressed the towel to his cheek once more. “I understand your frustration. But in the absence of a collective, we must have some way to settle on a course of action. I thought you had learned to appreciate the chain of command.”

“I have, but the system is distinctly flawed. One small mind is infinitely fallible, and can be influenced by forces other than logic. This reminder of that fact is… unwelcome.”

“Be that as it may, dwelling upon this 'fact' is unproductive. We should now make every effort to increase our chances of survival.” Tuvok set down the towel. “Take me to the bridge. I hope to hear later of your success in restoring function to the dorsal shield emitters.”

She guided his hand to her elbow. “I hope to be able to give you that news.”

Seven led him out of their quarters.

  
In the absence of many voices in her head, she had settled for the one, and learned to accept the feeble substitute of voices outside of her head instead. Tuvok's was highly preferable to many of the others. She desired, idly, to continue to hear it—and regretted, fleetingly, how instrumental she had already been in so many situations which could have silenced it forever.

**Author's Note:**

> Welp, my first Voyager fic. I didn't actually expect it to be this.  
> But there can never be enough Seven and Tuvok interaction.
> 
> I hope I got the characters right. I currently have several episodes featuring Tuvok/Seven interaction open in my browser tab in my attempt to study them.  
> (Also, I know this title sounds all paranormal-occult-ish. I am terrible at titles, I swear. Any suggestions are welcome.)
> 
> (My apologies to anyone who read my first version. I didn't notice before that Tuvok was blinded by that torpedo explosion, but that's been fixed now.)  
> Aaaand this is nothing actually original, just essentially re-hashing stuff from actual episodes. Maybe the addition of getting into Seven's head might help to make up for it? I'm terribly sorry, I literally just realized this and... *cringes, shamefaced*


End file.
